Praying Hands Are Folded, Not Sat Upon

In an attempt to stem the encroaching moral darkness, a number of conservative organizations and Christian ministries have coined rallying cries such as “Taking Back America” or “Reclaiming America For Christ” for the purpose of encouraging civic involvement on the part of believers. However, in a column titled “Taking America Back?” columnist Paul Proctor indicates these efforts are as much an affront to the Lord as the reprobate conditions such campaigns were instituted to address.

Edmund Burke is credited with saying all that it takes for evil to win is for good men to do nothing. That pretty much describes the relationship of the vast majority of Christians to the twentieth and now twenty-first century worlds.

Ridiculed by cultural elites and fearing corruption by the ethical spew emanating from these sources, significant numbers of believers retreated from confronting these influential institutions. Instead, those persuaded as to this approach concentrated on their own sense of piousness, many measuring their holiness by the degree to which they found themselves unconcerned about matters beyond their narrowly defined conception of proper Christian devotion.

But while most Christians reveled in their pious ignorance, the minions of perdition gladly stepped into the vacuum left by those content to ponder the spirituality of monastic detachment. To Mr. Proctor, that’s quite alright.

He writes, “They didn’t take this country away from us. We gave it to them. My question is ‘ What were we doing with it in the first place?’.” Would he have preferred things to have gotten started under the inept administration of the heathen?

Like it or not, human beings are sequestered upon the earth while they await their admission to eternity. In the meantime, individuals are given a degree of latitude in how they get to spend their time until they pass on to more metaphysically profound things. For whatever reason, most of the time God restrains Himself from directly supernaturally interceding in the flow of events; instead, He works through those endeavoring to implement His principles in all legitimate undertakings.

Mr. Proctor continues, “What’s a child going to do with a broken toy when he snatches it from the hand of the little friend who broke it? .... Probably just sit there, cry for a while and play with the broken pieces until he gets...frustrated and it ends up back in the hands of the mischievous friend he took it from.”

In the struggle for America’s soul, there is considerably more at stake than an arm busted off an action figure. The prize is nothing short of the right to determine along which lines this country will be organized.

Would Mr. Proctor stand aside and merely pray if someone broke into his house to rape his wife? If not, then why is he willing to let it happen to the future of his children and grandchildren?

Once certain things are broken, there is no getting a replacement. One cannot just go shopping for another country (though from what I gather of current immigration trends, Mexico must be nearly empty).

Calling upon Christians to assume a state of passivity in the struggle for America’s soul is to totally misunderstand the principles of Protestantism or even ecumenical Augustinianism upon which our branch of Western Civilization is based. According to classical Reformed thought, God ordained various social institutions with specified limited spheres of authority for the purposes of maximizing human welfare and happiness while minimizing the impact of evil and sin.

Mr. Proctor insists on establishing a false dichotomy between approaching God with a contrite and penitent spirit and doing what is necessary to pull ourselves up from the culturally degrading mire. The solution is not either/or, but rather both. To embrace both would not be a contradiction.

Does the Christian deny the Lord’s role in healing as the Great Physician should he seek medical treatment when faced with disease? Do we mock God’s promise to provide our needs when we go to work each morning? So why then does it suddenly become a problem to speak out in favor of righteous standards and decorum across the land?

Throughout his commentary, Mr. Proctor propagates the impression that the Christian should not concern himself with anything other than his own spiritual state. So it is quite a shock that he turns his focus outwards to characterize devout believers concerned over the well-being of their country like “a bunch of drooling drunks around the bar at last call.”

Since he is a former Nashville celebrity, I’d wager Mr. Proctor is better acquainted with drooling drunks than the typical conventioneer frequenting D. James Kennedy’s annual Reclaiming America For Christ conference. This symposium is hardly an unbridled orgy of uncritical jingoism. In years past, those in attendance contemplated such raucous subjects as how to articulate the Gospel, what the Bible has to say about Christian political involvement, the UN’s plan for world government, the case for creation, and America‘s Christian heritage. Vegas showgirls should be as exciting.

As fallen creatures, it is only natural for human beings to take things to extremes. Granted, there are those who expect too much from politics, looking to it to provide the solution to all the ills of this life by granting it undue authority. But isn’t the same true of religion as well?

Luis Palau in Keeping Your Kids Christian suggests that the Christian ought to consult with the pastor whenever they plan a major purchase; such things are none of the preacher’s business. So applying the Proctor Paradigm, does this mean we ought to sever our ecclesiastical entanglements all together because some spiritually unbalanced individuals imbue the church organizational with a degree of power it ought not to enjoy? The why is the standard different regarding socio-political involvement?

James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead. The same might be said of prayers not followed by action as well.

Copyright 2003 by Frederick B. Meekins
American WorldView Dispatch http://americanworldview.tripod.com